Mike Mason Off Team

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina announced Thursday afternoon that wide receiver Mike Mason
has been dismissed from the football team for violating team rules.

Mason
played in 11 games in 2005 and finished with 22 catches for 372 yards and
one touchdown. He was listed atop the depth chart at the position throughout the season.

During his UNC career, he set school records in the power clean (320 lbs.) and 40-yard dash (4.24) by a wide receiver.

He ranked third in the ACC as a freshmen in 2003 with a 26.0 yards per kickoff return average and was fifth in the conference in that category as a sophomore with 23.1 yards per return. In his three seasons at North Carolina, he totaled 63 receptions, 957 yards and caught five touchdowns.

Mason was a highly regarded prospect out of Rocky Mount, N.C. native, ranked the No. 18 wideout in the nation by Scout.com. He joined a UNC recruiting class that had two other Top 25-ranked receivers -- Jesse Holley (team-high 47 catches and 670 yards in '05) and Adarius Bowman (dismissed from the team in February and now at Oklahoma State).